Jean-Marie Servant learned his surgery techniques in the great hospitals of the world. But it was in Niger, the poorest country on the planet, where he was able to pioneer a facial reconstruction technique that now helps poor children suffering from a poverty-related disease that goes back to ancient times. Servant is remembered by his friend and colleague Daniel Cataldo.

As a rookie reporter in 1939, British journalist Clare Hollingworth got the scoop of the century: World War II. It was the start of a spectacular career for a woman in the historically male world of war reporting. She died Tuesday, age 105.

Elizaveta Glinka died last weekend when a Russian military plane taking off from Sochi crashed into the Black Sea. Glinka ran a Russian humanitarian foundation that helped orphans and elderly people and was flying to Syria to help deliver food and medicine to children caught up in the civil war.

Updated

12/28/2016 - 1:15pm

Israelis have been in love with Canadian-born singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, who passed away this week at the age of 82. It all goes back to the time Cohen sang for Israeli troops during the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

Updated

12/28/2016 - 1:15pm

Israelis have been in love with Canadian-born singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, who passed away this week at the age of 82. It all goes back to the time Cohen sang for Israeli troops during the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

Papa Wemba died earlier this week, after he collapsed on stage in Ivory Coast. The star, known as the king of Congolese rumba, was jailed in 2004 for smuggling Congolese people to Europe. Lubangi Muniania, a Congolese arts educator who knew Papa Wemba, explains Wemba's history.

The late Robin Williams made many of us laugh just when we needed it most. His gift was perhaps never more poignant and important as when he performed for US troops fighting overseas. The comedian devoted many hours to entertaining with the USO.

Activist Patricia Samayoa survived civil war and death squads, but was shot while running an errand in Guatemala last week. Her death is another symbol of the violence that has become commonplace and sent thousands of people abroad seeking refuge.

Claire Barry was one-half of the Barry Sisters, a pop duo that blended Yiddish tunes with swing music. She and her sister, Merna, shot to stardom in the 1930s, but their music reached an audience far beyond the Yiddish-speaking communities of New York.